“I can’t believe how close to Brighton this place is, and yet, I’ve never been here,” Damien commented as he and Emily walked across the grey, gravelled car park. They were on their way to meet the manager of Heathley Park and Gardens.
“I think I was dragged here before, when I was a kid, but all they had then were plants. It didn’t exactly inspire a return visit,” Emily replied, glancing at a sign that advertised a woodland adventure trail. Things had changed since she’d last visited Heathley.
“What are we doing here, if it’s just a garden?” Damien asked.
Emily didn’t blame him for being confused. She was still pretty unsure herself. All she’d been told on the phone was that Heathley needed their help going through some old documents that had been found. Emily couldn’t help but wonder where they’d been discovered. When they’d driven up the driveway, she’d spotted a small tearoom off to the side, but beyond that, there didn’t seem to be many buildings of significant age. Had they been unearthed quite literally, or was there a very well-preserved shed somewhere in the gardens with a false panel that had been hiding many secrets?
“We’ll just have to wait and see,” she said to Damien, shooting him what she hoped was an encouraging smile. He echoed it, but it was weak and soon fell away. Emily sighed silently.
The last time she’d seen Damien, he’d told her he loved her, and she hadn’t said anything back. She had later told him that she really, really liked him and thought he was wonderful - but that just didn’t seem like the right thing to have said when you compared it to a feeling like love. All you need is time to think this through, she thought to herself, and desperately hoped it was true.
Until Damien had arrived in her life as her new apprentice, Emily had assumed she’d always be on her own with only Mr Bumble the cat for company. She’d been with men on and off before then, but they’d only ever seemed to last as long as the job she was currently working. Long distance never seemed to work out.
With Damien, it was different. She really thought he could end up being someone she stayed with for a long time - maybe even forever - but she couldn’t rush her feelings. For now, she would just have to hope that he didn’t decide to find someone who would feel the same way sooner.
The first strange event of the day was walking into the reception area of the park and gardens and immediately being swooped upon.
“Hi! I’m Violet Renwick, the manager here at Heathley. You must be the historical researchers?” She extended her hand. Emily shook it, taken aback.
“We are, although, I’m curious how you knew that?” She and Damien didn’t wear any uniform or identifying logos.
“I’m afraid it’s not as impressive a feat as you may think,” Violet said, her bright smile fading a little. “The first thing you should know about Heathley is that we had a fire here, around a year ago, actually. It pretty much gutted the entire garden area. The only part left untouched was the parkland. We’re doing all we can to restore the place, but I’m sure you can understand that it takes a lot of time to repair the damage from something that destructive. As a result, the gardens aren’t looking as picturesque as they once did. It has definitely affected the number of visitors we’re able to draw in.” The only sign that she found this to be a concern was the way she clasped her hands together. Emily found she was already starting to respect Violet Renwick - one of life’s tough cookies.
“Anyway, that’s the reason you’re here!” she continued brightly, brushing a single stray strand of dark brown hair back behind her ear.
Emily took a moment to envy that perfectly straight and neat hair. Life was so unfair!
“Sorry… the reason we’re here?” Damien queried.
Violet blinked and then laughed. “I was getting ahead of myself, wasn’t I? My mind moves too quickly for my mouth!” She reached out and lightly touched Damien on the arm. He smiled back and Emily tried to quash the strange twinge of annoyance she felt at what was only a friendly gesture. She knew she was really annoyed with herself, not Violet.
“I’ve told you about the poor attendance figures, and this is one of the ways we’re working to solve it. Heathley House is just up the hill from the park and gardens and is privately owned by Southern Legacy Property. I believe they bought it back in the fifties, renovated it, and then it was split into flats and sold. It was all done around the same time that The Southern Parks and Gardens Trust bought the gardens and parkland, and Heathley was opened to the public for the first time. The house has always remained private - until now!”
She smiled at them both and Emily idly wondered if she’d once been a tour guide. “We’ve cut a deal with the residents at Heathley House. They’ve agreed to help support the gardens’ recovery by allowing areas of the house to be opened to the public. Just between us, they may have been encouraged to make that decision when I mentioned that if the gardens fold, the land will probably be sold off and built on.” Emily’s mouth tweaked up at that. This garden manager was definitely the woman for the job as far as getting Heathley back on track went. “Anyway, when the residents did a bit of a cleanup in preparation for all of this, one of them happened to lean on the back wall of their wardrobe and fell straight through it. Behind the wall was a small area packed full of old documents. So far, we haven’t been able to make head nor tail of them. That’s where you both come in.”
Damien cleared his throat. “Er… were they okay?” Emily and Violet stared at him. “The resident? The one who fell through the wardrobe wall?”
Violet blinked again. “Oh! Bless you! Yes, they were perfectly all right. Actually, I think they were chuffed to have had the adventure. Heathley House has become something of a retirement home,” she confessed, giving Damien the friendliest look that Emily had ever seen anyone give. She could almost hear Violet’s thoughts about what a lovely thoughtful person he was.
“Is there anything more we should know?” Emily asked, eager to head off those ideas as soon as possible. She really needed to get a grip on these emotions!
“I’m afraid there’s not much more that I can tell you. When you go over to the house, you’ll be able to talk to the representative from Southern Legacy Property, but as far as I know, when they bought the house, no-one had been living in it for a long time. Its past is actually a bit of a mystery! Perhaps you could solve that one, too, while you’re here. It would be great if it turns out to be interesting. We could do with all the exciting publicity we can get!” Violet said with a sincere ‘we’re all in this together’ look.
Emily silently wished that Violet wasn’t turning out to be such a lovely, charming person.
“Let’s get some coffee and head over there,” she said to Damien, hoping that a caffeine injection would make her feel less grouchy.
What’s happening to me? she wondered, when she and Damien were walking back across the car park. I used to be so good and polite with clients! These days, everyone seems to rub me up the wrong way. Perhaps she needed a break. The last few jobs she’d accepted had been pretty intense.
“I’d better let Mr Bumble out,” she said, more to herself than anyone else. Her fluffy, grey, ex-stray cat had refused to stay at home - even though Heathley was local enough for Emily to return to her flat every night. She supposed he didn’t like to miss out on any of the action.
“Did you see the ‘no dogs’ sign at the door?” Damien asked as they watched the grey cat streak away in the direction of a gate that no doubt led to the gardens.
Emily nodded. “It’s a good thing he’s a cat.”
They exchanged smirks and left Mr Bumble to it. Anyone that tried to inform the streetwise cat that he wasn’t welcome in the gardens would probably live to regret it.